The Hebrew Bible says Jacob "wrestled a man" until dawn (Genesis 32:25). Targum Onkelos stays with the Hebrew here—it was "a man," not an angel, not a demon, not a divine being. But the aftermath reveals what kind of man this was.
When Jacob sees God's angels meeting him at Mahanaim (Genesis 32:2-3), Onkelos renders his exclamation: "This is a camp from before God." The angels are not God's casual companions. They come "from before" God—emissaries of the divine court. Jacob names the place "Two Camps" because he perceives the boundary between the human and the heavenly.
Jacob's prayer before meeting Esau is one of the Torah's most vulnerable moments. "I am unworthy because of all the kindness and all the faithfulness You have done with Your servant" (Genesis 32:11). Onkelos renders "unworthy" as "my merits are few"—a more precise theological statement. Jacob is not saying he is worthless. He is saying his account balance is low. He has received more than he deserves, and he knows it.
The wrestling itself Onkelos leaves largely untouched. Jacob's hip is dislocated. He refuses to release his opponent without a blessing. His name is changed to Israel. But when the Hebrew says Jacob called the place Peniel because "I have seen God face to face and my life was preserved" (Genesis 32:31), Onkelos renders it: "I have seen the angel of God face to face." The opponent was not God. It was God's messenger. Jacob survived an encounter with the divine—but Onkelos ensures no reader confuses the messenger with the One who sent him.